Method of playing a basketball game

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a basketball court for playing a basketball game on a relatively rectangular court. Two opposing teams have hoops at opposite ends of the court. Each team includes four active players. Teams score five points by shooting a basketball into the hoop from beyond a five point line. A team scores four points by making a shot from beyond a four point line, but not beyond the five point line. A team scores three points by making a shot from beyond a three point line, but not beyond the four point line. A team scores two points for shots made from in front of the three point line. A team scores one point when an opposing player commits a foul. Each team&#39;s points are aggregated over the course of a game and a winner is designated when a team reaches one hundred and one points.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/210,274 , entitled “Method of Playing a Basketball Game,” filed Mar. 13, 2014, which claims the benefit of priority to Provisional Application No. 61/779,093, filed Mar. 13, 2013, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to a new basketball game, including rules and regulations governing playing a game involving a basketball hoop and a specialized court.

BACKGROUND

Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891 as a method of promoting physical activity on rainy days and long, cold winters. Basketball started by using a peach basket nailed to a gymnasium wall and a soccer ball. As time elapsed, the game evolved to use a backboard, hoop, net, and specialized ball that have become synonymous with the sport today.

Originally, the game only had thirteen rules governing game-play, but as time has progressed, the number of rules has greatly expanded. For example, originally, basketball did not allow for dribbling of the ball. Thus, when dribbling was introduced, new regulations were added to the game. Other examples of rules not included originally with the game, but that have become synonymous with basketball include the three point shot, the shot clock, illegal defenses, and, more recently the defensive blocking foul arc under the basket.

There are several major governing bodies that outline the rules of basketball. For example, in the United States, the National Basketball Association (NBA) uses its own specific set of rules. Similarly, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) sets the rules played by NCAA colleges across the United States. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) sets the rules for most non-U.S. basketball leagues and international competition. Although the basic rules dictating the game are roughly the same across each governing body and league, the various nuances of each rule set can be frustrating for players and fans alike.

Furthermore, even as the level of athleticism has increased over time, the entertainment level of the game has decreased. As with many games, a key to making a game entertaining is to have lots of scoring and minimal stoppages in play. Stoppages in play have increased as more rules have been added and more fouls called. Scoring has also decreased significantly over the last twenty-five years. In the 1984-85 NBA season, the average points scored by each team was 110.8 points, but by the 2010-2011 season, the average points scored by each team dropped to 99.6 points.

Part of the problem associated with the loss of scoring and entertainment can be attributed to game strategies that take advantage of the rules in an attempt to give a team an advantage. Some coaches and teams have developed strategies for taking advantage of the rules to slow a game down and allow for an inferior team to remain competitive with an athletically superior opponent. For example, in NCAA basketball, it is common for inferior teams to rely upon using a full 35-second shot clock during every offensive possession. Coupled with the use of zone based defenses that work to maximize the time it takes for an opponent to shoot, the number of scoring chances the opponent has during a game is limited leading to a close low-scoring game that is often painfully boring to watch.

Another example that is often used in the NBA is described by the term “hack-a-Shaq.” “Hack-a-Shaq” refers to a strategy that involves purposefully fouling a poor free throw shooting member of the opposing team. This strategy first started occurring in the waning minutes of tight games, but it has increasingly been used during random portions of games. This strategy has led to long stretches of games filled with game stoppages for fouls and free throws leading to increased game times since fouls cause a stop in the game clock and the agony of watching players constantly miss free throws. The game length is further increased due to the constant substitutions associated with this strategy. Oftentimes, teams substitute in poor, rarely used players for the sole intent of fouling another player when a team is on defense and then substituting that player out as soon as the player has committed a foul.

Thus, despite improvements in player skill and athleticism, the entertainment value of basketball has decreased due to increased stoppages in play that have been fostered by new rules and coaching strategies. It is with these and other issues in mind that various aspects of the present disclosure were developed.

SUMMARY

Implementations of the present disclosure involve a system and/or method for a new version of playing basketball. This version of basketball allows for the scoring of one point for a foul committed by a defensive player, two, three, four, or five points for making a basket depending on the location of the player when taking a shot. The game is divided into four quarters, but there is no game clock. Quarters end when one team reaches a designated point threshold. The game is over when one team scores one hundred and one or more points.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a Hoops 101 basketball court in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a variation of the game of basketball. The game uses many of the same rules as conventional basketball, but includes several changes or differences. The key to the present invention is a fast-paced game that does not allow for frequent stoppage in play. Implementations of the present disclosure involve a method for playing a basketball game. In particular, the present disclosure provides a set of rules for playing Hoops 101, a game that is similar to traditional basket ball in that it involves opposing teams of players trying to score points by shooting a basketball through a circular hoop and trying to prevent the other team from doing the same. Unlike traditional basketball, Hoops 101 does not allow for stoppages in play outside of breaks between quarters.

Playing Hoops 101 involves two teams of eight players pitted against each other. The game is a race to score one hundred and one points. Thus, the first team to one hundred and one points is declared the winner. Each team fields four players on a court at a time and has a bench consisting of the remaining four players. Neither team includes coaches or other members outside of the players.

Game-play involves each team attempting to shoot a basketball through a hoop or basket to accrue points. While a team is attempting to shoot the ball through the basket, the other team is tasked with defending the basket. Players without the ball may move freely around the court, but the player with the ball must either dribble while moving or pass the ball to another player. A player may take up to two steps without dribbling the ball, but a third step results in a violation and possession of the ball is turned over to the other team.

Referring to FIG. 1, Hoops 101 may be played on a substantially rectangular court 100 that includes baskets 200, 205 at opposing ends of a court. In one example, the court may be rectangular in shape and measure roughly ninety-four feet long and fifty-four feet wide. In other examples, the court may the same size as a conventional NBA court (ninety-four feet long and fifty feet wide), a conventional FIBA court (28 meters long and fifteen meters wide), or any other court. In the depicted example, two short sides 105, 110 and two longer sides 115, 120 form the boundaries of the court. As in regular basketball, the shorter sides 105, 110 may be referred to as the baselines. The baskets 200, 205 may be located in the midpoint of each baseline and may be placed approximately ten feet above the ground. The court may include a half court line 125 positioned across the middle of the court 100 that divides the court into two sides 110, 120. The court 100 also includes a three-point line 130, 140 and a four-point line 135, 145 on each side of the court 110, 120. Unlike NBA and FIBA, there is no over and back penalty.

The three and four-point lines are arcs or semi-circles centered at the hoop and starting and ending at the baseline. In one example, the three-point line may be positioned at twenty feet from the hoop, while the four-point line is positioned twenty-five feet from the hoop. Optionally, the radius of the three and four-point lines may be varied depending on court size constraints. For example, when using a the slightly narrower NBA sized court, the three and four-point lines may be brought closer to the basket, for example at twenty and twenty-three feet respectively.

In the depicted example, the court also includes eight inbounding circles 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185 located out-of-bounds for inbounding the ball after a stoppage in play. After a basket is made, the defending team may take the ball out from anywhere out of bounds along the baseline. When a foul or violation is committed, the ball may be inbounded from the inbounding circle closest to where the infraction occurred. The ball must be put into play within five seconds of a player receiving the ball at the inbounding location. The basketball game disclosed here does not have any free throws after a player has been fouled.

The team benches 190, 195 are also positioned out-of-bounds and include four slots for the bench players to sit.

Hoops 101 may allow for the scoring of points in two ways. First, points may be scored for shooting the ball through the hoop. Depending on the location of the shooter points may then be awarded. For example, the court may be divided into a variety of zones that are bordered by the boundaries of the court itself, the three-point line, the four-point line, and the mid-court line. For example, the court may include a two-point zone, a three-point zone, a four-point zone, and a five-point zone. The zones may be located such that more difficult shots are awarded more points. For example, the area closest to the basket may be designated as the two-point zone and any player how makes a basket while standing in that zone may cause two points to be awarded to his team. Similarly, the five-point zone may be the zone that is furthest away from a team's basket and the three and four-point zones may be between the other two zones.

In the event that a player misses a shot, any player may touch the ball once it has touched the rim of the basket 200. Once the ball touches the rim, there is no offensive or defensive goal tending.

In various embodiments, the two-point zone may include the area between the three-point line 130, 140 and the basket 200, 205. The three-point zone may include the area between the three-point line 130, 140 and the four-point line 135, 145. The four-point zone may include the area between the four-point line 135, 145 and the mid-court line 125. The five-point zone may include the area behind the mid-court line 125.

Each of the benches 190, 195 may comprise a queue, or a first-in-first-out bench. This means that only the player at the front of the bench queue e.g. in slot 1, may substitute into the game, and any players substituted out of the game are added to the end of the queue e.g. at slot 4. For example, the bench queue includes a first player in a first position, a second player in a second position, a third player in the third position, and a fourth player in a fourth position. When a player leaves the game for a substitution, the player in the first position enters the game. The players in the second, third, and fourth positions move up one spot to the first, second, and third positions, and the incoming player is placed into the fourth position. Players may be substituted one at a time at any time their team has possession of the basketball, but may only enter the court from the inbounding location closest to their bench, here at the inbounding circles 150, 155. A team may make one substation per offensive possession. A player substituting into the game does not need to check in with the scorer's table.

A foul is an infraction by an offensive or defensive player that involves improper physical contact that allows the offending player to gain an unfair advantage over another player. Each player is allowed up to six personal fouls. A foul by a defensive player results in a point being awarded to the offense. If the player that was fouled was fouled while shooting and making a basket, then the offense is awarded the points for the basket in addition to the point for the foul. Possession of the ball is then turned over to the defense and game-play continues. If there was no shot made during the foul, then the offense is awarded the point, but retains possession. The offense may then throw the ball in from one of the designated out-of-bounds circles. Unlike traditional basketball, no fouls are called for charges. In the case of a foul, the offending player is forced to substitute out of the game and the player in the first bench position replaces the fouling player.

In the NBA and FIBA basketball, it is common for a defensive player to stand stationary when an offensive player is running towards the defensive player. In the NBA and FIBA it is common for the defensive player to fall down or flop when the offensive player makes any contact. In Hoop 101, the defensive player is not allowed to fall down on purpose. Instead, a defensive player must make a play on the ball.

Once a team scores, the non-scoring team given possession of the ball. Unlike NBA and FIBA basketball, the team with possession of the ball does not have a ten second time limit for crossing midcourt 125. In NBA and FIBA basketball, there is a strict five second rule. It is envisioned that in the present disclosure the five second rule is not strictly enforced.

If an offensive player commits a foul, possession of the ball is turned over to the defense that may subsequently inbound the ball from one of the designated inbounds locations. As with defensive fouls, the offending offensive player must substitute out of the game, but no points are awarded to the other team.

Similar to NBA and FIBA basketball, the game may be divided into quarters. Unlike other basketball games, Hoops 101 does not use a game clock dividing the game into quarters. Instead, quarters are based on points scored. For example, the first quarter ends when one team scores twenty-five or more points. The second quarter ends when one team scores fifty or more points. The third quarter ends when one team scores seventy-five or more points. Each quarter begins with the team the team with the least amount of points inbounding the ball from the inbounding location in front of the team's bench 150, 155. The breaks between the first and second and third and fourth quarters may be roughly three minutes long, while the halftime break between the second and third quarters may be roughly five minutes long. Additionally, each team is allowed only one time out per game.

The game ends when one team scores more than one hundred points (i.e. one hundred and one or more points). In the case of a player being fouled while attempting a shot to win the game, no point is awarded for the foul. Instead, a “sudden victory” throw-in may occur. In this case a single defender is positioned below the offense's basket 200, 205 and the offense's player that was fouled is positioned at the three-point line 130, 140, directly in-between the two baskets. All other players may be positioned outside of the four-point line 135, 145. To resume game-play, the defender standing under the basket throws a low, one-bounce bounce pass to the offensive player standing at the three-point line 130, 140. The remaining offensive and defensive players must stand behind the four-point line 135, 145 during the throw-in, but when the offensive player receives the ball, the game action continues. After the referee makes a call, the ball is immediately put into play at any one of the designated circles 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185 out of bounds.

A shot clock may be implemented to count down from eighteen seconds when a team is on offense. If the team does not score before the shot clock expires, then possession of the ball may be turned over to the opposing team. The shot clock may be reset to eighteen or less seconds in various instances. For example, if the defense commits a foul the shot clock may be reset. Similarly, if the offense shoots a shot and the shot touches the rim, the shot clock may be reset. Also, if a defender kicks the ball with his foot, the shot clock may be reset.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements and methods which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within the spirit and scope of the present invention. From the above description and drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the particular embodiments shown and described are for purposes of illustrations only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. References to details of particular embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 

1. A basketball court comprising: a substantially rectangular shaped playing surface comprising a first short side, a second sort side, a first long side, and a second long side, wherein the sides connect at substantially right angles forming the substantially rectangular shaped playing surface; a half-court line bisecting the first long side and the second long side; a first basketball hoop connected to a first backboard positioned above the playing surface at along the first short line at a relative midpoint of the first short line. a second basketball hoop connected to a second backboard positioned above the playing surface at along the second short line at a relative midpoint of the second short line. a first semi-circle with a first radius, extending from a first starting point on the first short side near the first long side and ending at a first ending point on the first short side near the second long side; a second semi-circle with a second radius, extending from a second starting point on the first short side near the first long side and ending at a second ending point the first short side near the second long side; a third semi-circle with the first radius, extending from a third starting point on the second short side near the first long side and ending at a third ending point the second short side near the second long side; a fourth semi-circle with the second radius, extending from a fourth starting point the second short side near the first long side and ending at a fourth ending point the second short side near the second long side; wherein the first radius is less than the second radius.
 2. The basketball court of claim 1, further comprising: a first inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the first short side between the first starting point and the second starting point; a second inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the first short side between the first ending point and the second ending point; a third inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the second short side between the third starting point and the fourth starting point; a fourth inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the first short side between the third ending point and the fourth ending point; a fifth inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the first long side substantially equal distant from the first short side and the half-court line; a sixth inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the first long side substantially equal distant from the second short side and the half-court line; a seventh inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the second long side substantially equal distant from the first short side and the half-court line; and an eighth inbounding circle positioned outside the substantially rectangular shaped playing area along the second long side substantially equal distant from the second short side and the half-court line.
 3. The basketball court of claim 2 wherein a basketball game is played using the court, wherein the basketball game is played between a first team and a second team, wherein each team includes four active players, and wherein the basketball game is played on a relatively rectangular court with a first team's hoop positioned at one end of the court and a second team's hoop positioned at an opposite end of the court, the basketball game comprising: scoring points by at least one of: scoring five points by making a shot with a basketball into the hoop from beyond a five point line; scoring four points by making a shot with the basketball into the hoop from beyond a four point line, but not beyond the five point line; scoring three points by making a shot with the basketball into the hoop from beyond a three point line, but not beyond the four point line; scoring two points for shots that are made with the basketball into the hoop from in front of the three point line; and scoring one point by a player committing a foul; wherein each team's points are aggregated over the course of a game and a winner is designated when a team reaches one hundred and one points.
 4. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no ten second calls.
 5. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no free throws.
 6. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no over and back calls.
 7. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no closely guarded five second calls.
 8. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no calls against an offensive or defensive player for goal-tending after ball touches the rim.
 9. The basketball game of claim 3, where substitutions may come in one at a time per offensive possession, without checking in at the scorer's table.
 10. The basketball game of claim 3, where there is one time out allowed per team per game.
 11. The basketball game of claim 3, where there are no taking charges or flopping.
 12. The basketball game of claim 3, where the defensive player must make a defensive play instead of taking a charge.
 13. The basketball game of claim 3, where after the referee makes a call, the ball is immediately put into play at any one of the designated circles out of bounds. 